Getting there!

I saw Dr. Kunik today. It seems as though that really awesome band that I've had to wear across the front for the last five weeks worked. My midlines are lined up perfectly. So, now I just have to wear it at night to keep things that way. I'll have to go back to wearing it during the day if I notice that its slipping. Other than that, I just have one heavy band on the left side in triangle formation to get my teeth to touch a little more. I go back on October 20. If things look good, then they will take molds for my retainer and I'll get these things off two weeks after that. That would put me right at four months post op. Not too shabby. Just in time for the holiday parties!! So, I'm back to the countdown clock. Tentative de-bracing...t-minus six weeks. Keep your fingers crossed that my teeth comply with that!

Back to Dr. McCarty

I saw my general/cosmetic dentist Dr. McCarty yesterday. I haven't seen him since my first appt when I asked the question that started the downward spiral..."do you think you could do something to reduce my gums?". Oh, if I only knew how loaded that question would be. He told me that he strongly recommended braces because of my crossbite and narrow mouth. That's when I went to see my ortho Dr. Kunik who informed me that I needed jaw surgery. Ha, all because I hated how much gumminess I saw when I smiled. Anyway, yesterday's appt was meant to be for taking the mold for my crown/implant. However, it wasn't so easy to do since I still have my braces on. After some consideration, he decided to put in a temporary crown and then have me come back when the braces are off so he can do a proper mold and get one made with a perfect fit. The temporary is great and its nice to have that gap finally filled in. He also wanted me to wait since I will definitely need some whitening done after de-bracing and wants the crown color to match the new whiteness. There is also the issue with my tooth that sits between my front big tooth and canine on the right side (#7). It is really small from being squished for so long. Anyway, there is quite a bit of space around it right now since it where its supposed to be but not big enough to fill the space. Dr. McCarty told me that if he put a veneer on it the way it was, it would like a Chiclet stuck to my tooth. Even though I had 6mm removed from the top during surgery, I still have quite a bit of gum covering up my teeth. He suggested that I have laser contouring done to remove more of the gum to show more teeth. The teeth would then be elongated and would balance out the wide space. I'm so ready for all this to be over, but I think that would really be the icing on the cake. I don't think it hurts that bad and it definitely couldn't be worse than anything else I've had done, so I'm all for it. Here's an example of it:

Also, I have to apologize for my lack of blogging. Things aren't very interesting once you get past the hard part of surgery and recovery. It's basically a waiting game for the feeling to come back in your gums and for your braces to come off. Life has been pretty quiet except for the new puppy. Ruby is a handful but her and Bruiser are best of friends now. Bruiser didn't win the Austin Boston Terrier contest but thank you to all that voted for him. I must say that winner was ugly, but oh well! We are all bracing for Hurricane Ike here in Texas. Austin isn't going to get that much weather out of it but we are being flooded with evacuees. Please keep all those near the coast in your prayers. I can't imagine what those families are going through. I hope you all have a great weekend and I promise to take new pics!

Bruiser got a sister!

Here is Bruiser's new sister, Ruby Tuesday. She is an 8 week old brindle French Bulldog with ears that look like she can receive radio waves. I think she'll grow in them. Bruiser's not too sure about sharing his momma's attention, but they already love playing together. Hopefully, they'll wear each other out. Oh the puppy phase again, time to hide the shoes!
p.s. Bruiser is doing pretty well on the Boston Terrier contest. If you ever have time, you can vote more than once. Thanks for all of you that have already voted for him. We'll keep our fingers (and paws) crossed.

Vote for Bruiser!!

Hey All,
This month is Boston Terrier month on the Austin American Statesman dog contest. As of right now, Bruiser’s pics start around number 109 and go to around #116. That may change as more people upload pictures of their dogs. He is way cuter than those other Bostons! (I might be a little biased). Please give him your vote!

The link is below...

http://www.statesman.com/life/content/life/interactive/hotnot_best_boston_terrier/index.html

Thank you!!
Rachel

One woman, two faces

This is the first time I put a before and after pic side by side to really see the difference. Wow! Its so weird! My face is so much shorter and my teeth and smile are so much WIDER! The picture on the left is not very gummy because over the years, I got really good at keeping it under control. The pic on the right is me smiling as wide as I can and you can't see them at all! I saw Dr. Kunik (ortho) today and got a quite interesting band configuration. I've been really worried that my midlines haven't been lining up. I guess that's the OCD in me. I want them to be spot on. So now I have a really sweet band that goes diagonally across the front. I asked him the question he knew was coming. So...how much longer will I have these babies on? He said he would like to do another adjustment next month and see how things are going. He thinks that I can do one adjustment in September, one in October, and then get them off completely in November!! Yeah! Just in time for holiday parties, Christmas, and New Years Eve!! That would be FANTASTIC. I'm going to wear these stinking bands all day unless I'm eating. No pain, no gain and at this point it means the difference between taking pics at the office Christmas party with a blinding gleam coming from my teeth or to be feeling great with my new smile in a cute party dress. I'm going to call the dentist and see how long he thinks I need to heal in order to have my implant done. I would love to have a day of teeth that includes getting my braces off, having my implant done, and doing any bonding/veneering on my two small front teeth (and whitening at this point). My teeth look so dingy to me, but I can't really do anything about it except keep brushing. Normally, I would bust out the Crest White Strips, but those aren't quite made for braces. Someone should definitely invent whitening for us metal mouths! So, hopefully I only have three months or less left to go.

A little help from Uncle Sam

I did a little searching after my last post. All medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income can be written off on your taxes. This includes all dental procedures, braces, your portion of surgical expenses, and even mileage to and from doctor's appointments. Here is the link to the IRS website section regarding these deductions. Just thought it might be a good piece of info for you guys:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p502.pdf
It looks like this will be my first year to actually use an accountant!

In my next life...

So, I'm not as lucky as Michelle V. No big check from my insurance is coming this way. After a nice weekend in Arkansas, I came home to my first collection of bills from various medical offices. I have decided that in my next life, I'll own a surgical center. You wouldn't have to worry about the emergency room woes, everything is pre-approved before the patient arrives, and its privately owned. I guess that's why they can charge so much to my insurance. The hospital alone was over $33K! I know its difficult for them to show that I've already paid my deductible and my max out of pocket, but that was over a month ago that I made that payment to my oral surgeon's office. I freaked out when I received another bill from my anthesiologist's office that said I owed another $1400. I checked my insurance carrier's website and it stated that the claim had been processed and that it was owed. However, is also showed that I hadn't made any payments yet. Go figure, they are behind on showing the money you've shelled out, but they're very quick to tell you that you owe more money. I called my insurance and the anthesiologist. I got a statement from the surgeon to show that I made a payment large enough to cover my part. Thank goodness that all my doctors have really nice and helpful office staff. Even though I hate the hoops that insurance makes you jump through, I'm sure glad I have it. There is no way I could ever afford to have this done without it. I still haven't seen all the charges, but so far, my insurance has had close to $58,000 submitted to them in claims! I also found out that I can write off my portion of medical expenses on next year's taxes. I believe braces can be written off too as a deduction. That should be a huge help on next year's tax return!

p.s. lots of new pics will be taken this week with my co-workers b-day bash tomorrow and the dog party that Bruiser and I will be attending this weekend. Sorry I've been behind with the pics, its just been a little nuts lately.